Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
Neighbouring countries
Thailand: checking tour companies and guides
Many trips to Vietnam add a few days in Thailand. The checks are the same in spirit: a licensed company, a contract, a payment you can dispute and insurance that fits the activity. The official bodies are different, and so are some of the risks.
Contents
Who does what
Because we could not read the official licence register, this page does not describe its search fields or licence number format. Ask any Thai company for its tour business licence number and check it on the government tourism department's website before paying.
Sources: Tilleke & Gibbins — how Thailand's Consumer Protection Board handles complaints (law firm); UK Foreign Office — Thailand getting help; UK Foreign Office — Thailand safety and security · last checked .
What UK travel advice says about operators
- Elephant treks. Use a reliable, licensed tour guide; British nationals have been seriously injured and killed when handlers lost control.
- Scuba diving. Diving schools may not meet safety and maintenance standards. Check the operator's credentials, your insurance conditions, the condition of the equipment, whether there is oxygen on the boat, and whether divers can be transferred to a hyperbaric chamber.
- Boats. Passenger boats between the mainland and islands can sink or collide, sometimes fatally. Overloading, poor maintenance and rough seas, especially in the monsoon, are the causes named.
- Water and rivers. Riptides have drowned swimmers, especially in the monsoon; jellyfish stings can be fatal, particularly from May to October; river currents can be extremely strong in the rainy season.
None of these is an argument against a tour. They are the questions to put to a company before you book: which boat, how many passengers, what safety equipment, which guide, and what happens if the weather turns.
Sources: UK Foreign Office — Thailand safety and security · last checked .
Scams that affect bookings
The UK advice warns about job offers that seem too good to be true, with victims taken to neighbouring countries, their passports confiscated and coerced into online scamming. It also reports card skimming at ATMs and advises keeping your card in sight and using machines inside banks.
For tour bookings the general red flags apply: a seller that cannot give a licence number, a price far below similar programmes, pressure to pay at once, and payment to a personal account. The red flags page sets them out with what to do about each.
Sources: UK Foreign Office — Thailand safety and security · last checked .
A checklist for Thai bookings
- Ask for the company's legal name and tour business licence number, and check them on the government tourism department's site.
- Get the programme, price, inclusions and cancellation terms in writing from the company's email.
- Pay by card to the company, or to a company account in its legal name.
- For diving, elephant visits or island boats, ask the safety questions above and keep the answers.
- Check that your insurance names the activities, including diving depth limits if you dive.
- Install the Tourist Police app if you will travel without a Thai SIM card.
Tours that cross from Vietnam into Thailand
Multi-country programmes sold in Vietnam often hand over to a local company at each border. Ask the seller which company runs each country's leg and whether your contract covers all of them. If the Vietnamese company is the only one on the contract, ask in writing who is responsible for the Thai part if something goes wrong there.
Complaints about the Thai leg go first to the company that ran it and to the seller you paid. For consumer rights in Thailand, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board is the government body; for crime, the Tourist Police.
Sources: Tilleke & Gibbins — how Thailand's Consumer Protection Board handles complaints (law firm); UK Foreign Office — Thailand getting help · last checked .
When to look elsewhere
- An operator that will not say which boat or dive centre it uses.
- An elephant programme that cannot tell you who the handlers are or how the animals are kept.
- A seller whose licence number you cannot find or that belongs to another business.
- Island transfers in rough monsoon weather with no plan for cancellation.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Does the Tourism Authority of Thailand license tour companies?
Its role is promotion. Tour business and guide licences are issued by a government tourism department under national law. Ask the company for its licence number and check it there.
Where do I complain about a consumer problem in Thailand?
The Office of the Consumer Protection Board is the government body for consumer complaints. For crime, contact the Tourist Police.
What should I check before a dive trip in Thailand?
The operator's credentials, equipment condition, oxygen on the boat, access to a hyperbaric chamber and your insurance conditions, as UK travel advice suggests.
Is it safe to take island boats in the monsoon?
UK advice links boat accidents to overloading, poor maintenance and rough seas, especially in the monsoon. Ask about passenger numbers and cancellation plans before you book.
Related
Read next
Neighbouring countries
Cambodia and Laos
UK travel advice on tour operators, guides, boats and scams in Cambodia and Laos, with practical checks.
Before you book
Red flags
The scam patterns official warnings describe, a table of red flags, and what to do if you have already paid.
Money
Insurance
The operator's legal insurance duty, what your own policy should cover, common exclusions and how claims work.
Before you book
Tour guides
Three types of guide card, the conditions for each, how to check one in the national database, and the fines.
Before you book
Agents and operators
Licensed operators, travel agents and overseas platforms compared, and what each means for your contract.
Independent guide for travellers
Home
Start here: the checks to run on a travel company in Vietnam, from licence to complaint.
Start planning
Send a correction or a question
Tell us which page and which line, what you found instead, and when. A link to an official source helps us check it. Tourist Agent does not sell tours, does not take bookings and does not pass your details to any travel company.